Group building or Team building?

At Barcelona Ambassadors, we’re often asked whether there is any difference between team building activities and group building activities. Are they just different words for the same thing, or do they function differently? Let’s take a look at each of these terms in more detail.

When we talk about teams, we are talking about an aggregate set of people who are all aligned and directed towards a common goal or result, such as the completion of a particular project or starting a new business. A graphical representation of a Team could be as follows:

Our team building activities are based on the fact that individuals share a common goal and are usually looking for someone to help them with the processes of working together more effectively to achieve a result. In general, team building activities help individuals to reflect on their behavioural pattern in a team; through this they may establish new patterns for a better performance.

When we talk about groups, we are talking about people who come together with a common interest but do not have the same goal in mind. For example, a group of people can meet to be trained on effective leadership, but each individual have their own ultimate goal to which they would apply their new skills. Group activities focus mainly on the development of the single person. A graphic example of a Group could be as follows:

At Barcelona Ambassadors we tailor our activities also based on this important difference. This allows us to design tours and group or team building experiences that leave a long-lasting impact.